Connector for railway-car-brake systems.



m.s95,-274. I PATENTBD AUG. 4 1903;

' G. B. KELLY dz G. P. ROYER.

CONNECTOR FOR RAILWAY CA R BRAKE SYSTEMS. ULY 1a, 1901.

APPLICATION FILED zi l l l z i of railway car brake, signa To all whom-"it may concern;

coup ers will interlock.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. oizoncn EQ KELLY axncnoaon lici'iirijorwiiirizs-naRRE, PEXXSiLVANIA, assrcx- ORS TO KELLY-ARNOLD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or snares-canes, Pans VANIA, A CORPORATION OF PEfINSYLVANIA.

' CONNECTOR FOR RAILWAY-CAR-BRAKE SYSTEMS.

Be itknown that we, GEORGE E. KELLY and GEORGE F. Home, citizens of the United States, and residents of Wilkes-Barre, in the county. of Luzerne and'State of Pennsyl- Vania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Connectors for Railway- Car-Brake Systems, of which the following is a specification.

e present invention relates to improvements in connectors for the pipes or conduits or heating systerns, and particularly ,to devices for such purpose of that character which are adapted to automatically engage similar ones when ht together during the operation-of mg cars. In the accompanying drawing is illustrated anernbodiment of the invention which in eneral characteristics is similar to that illustrated and described inlatent 811,068 issued January 30, 19-06 to George E. Kelly and Jae1l-M.'Arnol l,and in the application of said Kelly and George F. Roycr, filed February 7, 1907, Serial Number 356,287.

A considerable use On railway cars in actual service of connectors similar to those constructed in accordance with said patent and application has failed to produce any condition under which they will not automatically engage one with another when two cars provided with such connectors are brou htinto such relation that their draft That is the funnel sha d guide of the connector as shown in sai patent. and application has uniformly engaged the guide pm of the other connector and brought the two connectors into proper engaging relation. on curves, and when the two connectors were at difi'erent elevations as well as when the cars were coupled on a straight, level track.

xperiments with connectors arranged in relations which have not been met or expo rienced in the practical use on railways fore referred to, however, have shown that under certain conditions, for instance when the connectors are at an abnormally large an le to each other or there is an extreme di rence in height, the guide pins will not be properly guided throng thefunnels as the draft couplers of two carsare engaged, unless there is a modification of the form of pin Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed July 18, 1907. Serial No. 384.49).

a connector as is illustrate Patented Aug. 4, 1908.

and funnel from that illustrated in the patcut and application before mentioned.

The ob ect of the present invention, therefore, is to provide such 'a construction of connector of the type referred to as will insure a proper and automatic engagement thereof with another whenever the draft couplers of.

two cars, providei with the improved connectors, are engaged.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure! is a plan view of a connector embodying the present invention and adapted to con nect the pipes of the brake, signal and heat-u mg systems of a railway tram; and Fig.2 is an end elevation of'the connector.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the body of the connector which, in the embodiment of the inventi n illustrated, is provided with three passagrs controlled respectively y valves 2, 3, '4. and each having one or more internally threaded outlets as at 5, bv

means of which it maybe connected with the pipes or conduits of the brake, signal or heating systems of the railway car As the construction and operation of such in the accompanying drawing i described in detail in the patent and application before referred to, It is thought necessary at this time to only describe particularly the improvements or differences between the connector illustrated and those disclosed by said patent and application.

The connector is provided with a pin 6 which projects inwardly from the operating face thereof, at one side of the body, being supported by the arm 7 which is riveted or bolted to an ear or bracket extending laterally from the connector body. Surrounding the end of the (pin 6 adjacent the arm 7 are a plurality of re ielly projecting arms 8.

At the Opposite site of the connector bodv is su ported the funnel shaped guide 9 which plication before referred to, but differs from such earlier device in several particulars. One of the improvements consists lll form ng a'notch 10 in the enter side wall of the guide adjacent the reduced end thereof which notch c oinr. unicetes with the opening at the reduced end of the guide and provides a substantially elliptical opening at such end.

The guide piii 6 is substan tially elliptical in cross section and is tapered somewhat adja cent its free end. The outer surface of such tapered section is in ned on a line which is parallel to the line 052 ination of the side of the funnel 9 in which the notch 10 is formed. By this arrangement of parts it will be seen that when the ide pin 6 of a connector enters the funne of another connector it will slide freely therein and the parts will not bind even if the connectors are at a very wide angle to each other. guide 9 are made in the forms shown in the patent and application referred to, that is, if the pin is cvhndrical and of substantially the saiuc width throughout its length and the funnel is provided w tli a circular o ening at its reduced end, it is possible for t ie )in to bear upon the inner surface of the guide at such anangle that'the parts will bind and the pin be prevented from passing through the o ening at the end of the funnel guides l owever bv )rovidin the notch 10 and I v C inclining the outersurface of thctapered section of the guide pin, as shown in the d rawing and above described, it is mpossible for any such binding to occur and the pin 'will be uniformly caused to pass freely 'through the f uunel guide and properly position the other )iirts. .ltcfcrring to ig. 2. it will be seen that the enlarged end of the guide 9 is substantially rectangular in form and has a uniform \ridt from top to bottom corresponding to the' greatest diameter of said guide. Vihile it is desirable to make the body of the funnel guide substantially circular in cross section. it will be seen that it the forward end thereof is of this form, the full diameter thereof is only available when the Connectors to be engaged occupy exactly the same horizontal plane. That is, uniess the pin 6 of the one connector is in the sarsie lane as the aperture at the smaller end uf tl' ie guide it may not propcrl engage the latter guide. As the cars come together if the guide pin is-any considerable distan e above or below the (chiral plane of the guide 9 it may imperfectly contact with the latter guide. avoid this the present invention irovides for extending the mouth of the guide fl so that it has the form of :1 square parallelogram. That is, by )i-o\id"" four wings ll at the largcr end of llic fiznncl guide E! the surface with which the pin :3 may coat-t is uniform" throughout the height of the guide .l. Said nings are formed integral with the l)ntl of the guide 9 and the iuner surface thci'cofis inclined and form a t rllilllllilflflli of the inncr surface of the lmii of said guide. Willi this arrangement the guide pin (3 will be If the pin 6 and properly adjusted to cause the desired engagement of two connectors which may be at wit ely varying elevations.

Having thus described the invention, what isclainied and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A vconnector for the pipes of e. railway brake system, comprising a body having therein a suitable passage adapted to be connected with a pipe, a guide p n projecting beyond the face of said body at one side thereof and having a body substantially elliptical in cross section, and a funnel shaped guide at rangedet the op osite side of said b0 y, substantia ly as and for the purpose described.

2. A connector for the pipes of e. railway brake system, comprising a body, having therein a suitable-passage adapted to be "onnected with-a pipe, a guide pin projecting yond the face of said body at one side the: erf

and a funnel shaped guide at the opposite side of the body, said pin being reduced in and for the purpose described. 3. A connector for the pipes of a railway brake system comprising a body, having therein a suitable passage adapted to be connected with a pipe, a guide pin projecting beyonththe face of said body at one side thereof, and a\funncl shaped guide arranged at the opposifeside of said body and having a notch cut in its-side and communicating with the aperture at the reduced end thereof, substantially asan'd for the purpose described.

4. A connector for the pipes of a railway brake system comprising a body, having therein a suitable passage adapted to be connected with a pipe, a guide pin projecting beyond the face of said body at one side thereof,

and a funnel shaped guide arranged at the its height. substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. A connector for the pipes of*a railway" brake system comprising a body having therein a suitable passage adapted to beconnected with a pipe, a guide pin projecting beyond the face of said body at one side thereof, and a funnel shaped guide arranged at the opposite side of said body. the body of said funnel being circular in cross sectionand having at its forward end about-the circular mouth thereof wings which form a St uai'c parallelo rani having the diameter o the mouth of the funnel.

In testimony whereof we allix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

. GEORGE E. KELLY.

GEORGE F: ROYER. Witnes es: I 1

inwiuiu N. NoLL, Jonu ODoNxELL. 

